Road Map to Tax Resolution

What to Expect When Resolving Your Tax Debt

Many of our clients who retain our tax relief service are interested in knowing two things: One, can you settle this for less than I owe? And two, How long will this take?

Upon retaining our firm to resolve your tax issues, some of the relief will be immediate and some will be over time. It is important to keep in mind that IRS problems didn't come about overnight and will take time to resolve. The good news is that generally you won’t have to meet or speak with the IRS while we are representing you. An average Offer in Compromise case can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months (and longer) depending on the amount of tax owed and the complexity of your individual facts and circumstances.

Road Map to Tax Resolution

Request a Consultation: If you have never been a client of ours, the first step is to call for an appointment for a confidential, no obligation evaluation. At this meeting, an experienced tax resolution CPA or Enrolled Agent will evaluate your situation and discuss all available options available to you. If you are married, both spouses must attend this meeting. The meeting generally takes 30 to 45 minutes; however, there are times where the information provided at this meeting is not sufficient to determine a course of action. It is advised therefore to bring all tax notices and correspondence from the IRS to the meeting (arranged in chronological order by tax year) along with the last IRS tax return filed by you.

Retaining our Firm: At the end of your consultation, and if selected as a good “fit” for our firm, you will be given the opportunity to retain us as your tax representative. You will be required to sign an Engagement Letter and make financial arrangements in order to pay for our tax help services. We will file a Power of Attorney (POA) with the IRS. This will provide you with immediate relief because from that point on the IRS will be required to contact us instead of you. If the IRS should happen to contact you, all you need to do is politely request that it contact Keystone Financial Solutions, Inc. directly by dialing (610) 594-2601. A separate POA will be required for any state problem you may have retained us.

Beginning the Tax Resolution Process: You will be assigned a CPA or Enrolled Agent who is in charge of your case. All of our case managers are licensed CPA or Enrolled Agent professionals and are extremely qualified. Together we will develop a strategy for resolving your case and advise you on what steps will be taken for the most effective resolution. Your case manager is available to you by direct dial phone, individual e-mail, or in person. At Keystone Financial Solutions, Inc., we employ the team approach and personal attention to resolving your tax problems.

IRS Compliance: Before any negotiations or settlements will be accepted by the IRS, you must become a compliant taxpayer. That means that all past due delinquent income tax returns must be prepared and filed. Compliant also means you have to be “current” on your quarterly estimated income tax payments and you must be withholding at the correct rate if a wage earner. We are experienced in what must be done to achieve this and will accordingly advise you. For those of you who are unable to furnish records necessary to prepare your tax returns, Keystone Financial Solutions, Inc. has developed methods, in accordance with IRS regulations, for completing the preparation of tax returns in order to get them filed ASAP.

Your (Client) Responsibilities: Clients who achieve successful resolution of their tax issues have the following traits:

Tax Settlement Negotiation: We will propose a plan of resolution to the IRS that you concur that you can live with and see through to acceptance. We have an excellent IRS settlement record and pride ourselves in obtaining the best (lowest) settlement for you under the law. However, it is rare that a proposal is accepted right away. Through diligence, persistence and follow-up, we will monitor, provide additional information to the IRS as needed, and negotiate your proposed resolution.

Tax Resolution is Reached: We will review the final resolution of your case to make sure it is as all parties agreed. If not, we will insist that it be changed to reflect what was agreed. If the IRS is unwilling to do this, we will advise you as to what your options are for the next step. Finally, you will be advised on what you must do in order to succeed with the permanent resolution of your case and how to avoid future tax problems.